A worthy Ascendency
by Ranko's Knight
Summary: The Ending we all wanted to the lady Penitent trilogy, but all knwe would NOT happen.


A worthy Ascendency

All chars copyright to TSR/WOTC

Note: this will seem like an outcry, juvenile or "why wasn't their a happy ending" to some

I knew from the start wotc wouldn't give us one, so they could continue using the drow.

But I was curious on what a happy ending to the Lady Penitent trilogy would look like.

Could it? Halisstra wavered. Would Eilistraee truly take her back, after all she had done? Halisstra could feel the power of the goddess who stood before her. It radiated from Eilistraee, filling the chamber. Cleansing it. Turning a place of darkness and death into a place of moonlight and song.

The tiny spark that had been nickering, flear extinguished, deep inside Halisstra, longed to be fanned back to life. When that happened, her torment could end. She would be forgiven. Redeemed.

Eilistraee held out her hand. "Come," she sang. "Take my hand. Accept my mercy. Rejoin the dance."

Halisstra leaned close. She lowered the Crescent Blade. Extended her free hand . . .

She's lying.

The whisper was thin, metallic. It came to Halisstra's ears like the hum of a tuning fork, as the sword in her hand vibrated.

That's not eilistraee

Hallistra paused "this is a trick by Lolth…" then paused thinking carefuly.. despite the webs enshrounding her mind…

Who knows what kind of spels lolth had cast on her mind… and somehowshe doubted lolth could fake the look of simple love and compassion she saw now on Eilistraee face however hard she tried…

Tears coming from her face Hallistra dropped the swordhearing it protest in response to that and said

"EIlistraee FORGIVE ME! I murdered Feliane, I wasted Sey'lls sacrifice… I made of myself an accursed creature… I tortured others into forsaking the faith… feeling the tears flow…

Eilistraee looked through Qilues eyes atHallistra and for a second the mask totally vanished, her brothers influence so deeply submergedin this moment, she said.

"I forgive you Hallistra.

And she touched hallistra on the Forehead… And Hallistra felt her guilt shed and Eilistraee said simply

"your mind and soul I rectify now, your body must remain as it is until Lolth is dead."

Hallistra bristled a bit but after a second felt it might be harder to accept, if the forgiveness was completely instant and bowed her head.

"I understand my lady" bowing her head.

She would go as this thing … and fufill the holyiest of holymissions

Eilistraee paused "but the sword… itself I sense something amiss "

Eilistraee touched the sword… and Wendounai was drawn out of the blade saying"so you are here… and plotting to kill my mistress and

Eilistraee yawned contempusously, though even that was musical coming from her…

And laced her contempt with magic great enough to decimate his soul utterly

She nodded "I'll send you there Hallistra now go

Hallistra Sighed reutnrning to the abyss she was ready for anything now… she would enjoy killing lolth more then anything… she truly saw her mistake now in having doubted Eilistraee..

They Yochlols and mychlonars ignored her as she went into lolths palace

"so you have the accursed sword?" Lolth bellowed"

Hallistra nodded

Perhaps I can find some use for it.. give it to me.

Hallistra bowed obediently

"as you wish mylady… it is yours

She said pretendingabsolute submission then LUNGED at her mistresses

Using everything she had

Letting all the petty personal hatred she felt for Danifaes face… and all the righteous anger she felt as a follower of eilistraee, who had been betrayed by one she trusted… as well as her desire to see Faerun made a better place speed her sword…

"WHAT BETRAYAL IS!-" lolth yelled tried too shield herself but a second too late her head was hacked from her shoulders

Black blood emitted from her neck…

The Crescent blade SANG in accordance with this act, and dissipated into motes of moonlight… and Hallistra Smiled

"Its over its finally over"

She blinked feeling something happening the spiders in her wear dieing, she felt her mandibles reconfiguring into a normal mouth… it was painfulfor a second then she realized Eilistraee hadn't waited to see her again had simply willed it so…

"or maybe Lolths death caused it, does it matter?" she asked rhetoricaly with a smile

Then said.

"First thin I plan to do is apologize to my brother and hug him once more. Maybe together we can help our people build a new path together.

She laid a single finger on it

…..

Lolth looked wildly around. Eilistraee was gone! She laughed a shrill, giddy peal of delight. "You concede?" she cried. "At last, the drow are . .. ?"

Just a moment. Something was wrong. Eilistraee's realm should have disappeared with her. Yet it remained, just on the other side of the board. Forest, moonstone fruits, stars . .. Everything was there, except for the moon. It had vanished from the sky, as if. ..

Yes, that was it. The moon wasn't gone; it was just eclipsed. Still up in that sky, somewhere. Just as Eilistraee herself was still here ... somewhere.

Lolth's eye fell on the Warrior piece. A pass of her hand over it, palm down, confirmed her suspicions. She could feel the loathsome moonlight hidden within. The Warrior still looked as it had, but that was just a disguise. The piece was no longer hers.

Vhaeraun had, indeed, taught his sister well.

She could see now what Eilistraee's plan had been. The demonic Warrior piece stood on a line that led directly back to Lolth's Mother piece; one move would take the Mother out. But Lolth's bestial Priestess would soon put a halt to that.

_This is where things break off into my alt universe, what would have happened if we want a satisfying conclusion, rather then a NOTHINGS Ever finished, whichbusiness mass produced fiction demands_

_Th _

_Lloth reached for her Bestial priestess piece, it struggled in her hands, and tried to escape… Lolth responded by gripping it tighter… wich only caused more struggle… and then she felt the piece Stab her finger_

_Lolth snapped her finger back in pain… The piece was no longer hers either._

_And saw she had only one move left… then she would be unmade._

_And the DROW will belong again to the likes of Eilistraee, and through her Correlon._

_Lolth Grimaced and moved one last piece_

_A warrior, she moved to wipe out a group of traveling moonshard._

_Hopefully slaughtering dozens, if not hundreds of eilistraees worshipers before being taken down._

_Eilistraee reappeared sighing_

"_Mother, must your last act, be one of spite?" Eilistraee said shaking her head sadly._

_Then moved the piece._

"_Priestess takes, mother"_

_She said moving the piece smoothly, it respondingintstant now to eilistraees command and moved it to take Lolths piece with a single graceful move._

_Lolth looked at her daughter with pure, andunmitigated hatred._

"_You will lead the drow back into enslavement under correlon, if I am too weak to beat you then death is what I deserve… I will not beg for my life"_

_Eilistraee nodded and said "game"_

_Knocking the mother piece over Lolth Screamed_

_Her realm continued to deteriorate the spiders dissipating the light of the moon pressing itself furtherand further in…_

_Eilistraee knew better then to even try consuming lolths power, she had already been changed, perhaps forever, by absorbing Vhaurens power… she dared not even touch lolths._

_Lolth Sccreamed through it all her form breaking apart, as Eilistraee broke the Mother piece._

_The moon on the Dice which had turned black shimmered, turning silver again… the tiny spider inside, dissiptating into nothingness…_

_As her mother died Eilistraee Wept… their could be no redemption for her now._

"_Dear dear mother" she sobbed then sighed_

"_sacrafices had to be made" she reminded herself watching_

_As lloths domain crumbled… turning into a wasteland. Eilistraee sighed_

"_how long will it take, to plant tree's here, to place stars in the sky?"_

_Eilistree sighed, she had a promise to keep and touched the demonic priestess piece._

_Within Seconds it was demonic no more… restored to the beauty it had known once before._

_Eilistraee sighed, the priested might never have her trust again, after her actions but she had her pity, and if she kept her oath, would be welcome in svartalfheim when she died._

_To reunite with her brother…_

_In fact she'd probably reunited with him in a few minutes._

_Eilistraee smiled happily_

_How many happy reunions would their be soon._

_She sighed sadly for a second_

_Their would be no "reunion" for her and her brother… even if he should ever be resurrected he would simply see her as a new lloth._

_First correlon, then Lolth , now, if he ever returned her._

_Eilistraee then saw all of lolths pieces belonged to her._

_Some of course, had to be crushed. For the good of the Tel'quessir._

_The yochlol, she one and all destroyed ordering the dark song knights, and her own celestial servants, to sweep through the demon web pits, just to make sure none were left._

_Though she was sure many had already escaped to faerun justto continue spreadiny havoc_

_She then turned her attention to the matron mothers._

_No not them… the snakeheaded whips._

_She sicked one whip after another in a rapid sucession of moves on the matrons… as a sign the whips were no longer safe…_

_She could feel the confusion terror, fear and horror of all the Lolthites, but then sent a message to one hidden moondancer after another, that thetime to lead the people back to their destiny was at hand._

_They were usualy timid about being too obvious but she made it clear that now the matrons would have little choice but to to allow her worship_

_Eilistraee looked at the realm.._

_The Difference between hers and what was left of Lolths had been dissipating slowly _

_Nothing was left of lolths realm, it just seemed less developed with Barren soil_

_Which Eilistraee would let cultivate first grass then trees at its normal rate_

_She could be patient._

_The dice floated up into the air and became a twinkling of light._

_A blessing upon the dark elven people for their return to then Tel quessir_

_Eilistraee paused_

_Now that this was done she should rejoin the seldarine formally._

_But before that … their was something she had to do._

_She sang, slowly calling on the attention of Ao._

_She felt him answer_

"_what is it"_

"_Lord Ao, I ask for the resurrection of my dead brother"_

_She felt confusion even from him… that is rare_

"_the Death of the one who tried tokill you_

"_his worshipers need someone to follow… and I do not like how his portfolio has changed me… I have no other way to be rid of thismask"_

"_that is truly what you want, to sacrifice power to be rid of that mask"_

_She nodded_

"_then be it so, be you the eilistraee you were beforehand… vhauren will return as a demigod little threat to you for many ages._

_She nodded and already she knew another game may well be played on thisboard,and she knew she couldn't get too lax, after all she won and she'd been at a disadvantage._

_atched for a while as the pieces moved, for the first time in eons, without competition between two partys. When she noticed someone coming over_

"_Father she called out" smiling feeling glad she was rid of the mask her silver eyes aglow, herself once more much like an innocent._

"_Im sorry" she said suddenly sympathetic…_

"_I know that even after millennia deep down, you probably still felt something for her didn't you_

"_Aurashnee" he said a bit sadly, a tear falling from his eye then nodded_

"_I am glad, however that you have the worshipper base you deserve… are you sure its wise to return vhauren to life" she shook her head_

"_I could feel his power corrupting me father… I couldn't bear it… I felt some of my priestesses concerns on the issue._

"_Ao could have simply stripped you of the power, it would have been much simpler._

_She nodded then had a mischieviour smirk on her face_

"_Besides, as the new Head of the drow pantheon, I'll need subordinates" correlon paused "you don't mean to._

_Eilistraee laughed_

"_Father of course I'll give you fealty.. but I still think I'll need servitor deitys at my age and rank._

_He nodded "I wont dispute that… but im not readmitting him to the seldarine" she nodded_

"_nor do I ask it, I do think he'll start to find he can get moreworship by working with me then against me."_

_She bowed and said with odd ceremony_

"_Lord Correlon, father of the Elven race, it is my desire to tie the fate of my own Divine personage, or pantheon, to Arvandor, the face of the People, and to you_

_He nodded and said_

"_be it so, I accept your service, you will be tied to me, to Arvandor, and to the peopleshe smiled and for the first time in years left the board unattended for their was no war over the souls of the People… for now._


End file.
